Tortilla Soup

This soup is served in Mexico, but it's also quite popular all over Central and South Texas, and everyone has their own spin. My version is a twist on one from The Austin Junior League. It's convenient and doesn't involve toasting and grinding chile peppers. You don't even have to cook your own chicken! Just use chicken leftover from another meal or chopped and thawed frozen pre-cooked chicken.

Course Entree

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword tortilla soup

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Author Anna

Cost 5

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil (You can use 1 to 1 ½ T, but it tastes better with 2)
1 cup chopped onions
1 clove garlic, chopped (use more if desired)
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin or whole cumin seeds
10 ounce can of diced tomatoes with chiles drained, OR A can of undrained Rotel for spiciness
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 ¼ teaspoons smoked paprika
4 cups chicken broth (salted) plus more if desired
12 oz frozen corn
1 ½ cups shredded chicken breast Use more or less depending on your tastes
Black pepper and salt to taste if necessary
6 large corn tortillas

Instructions

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the oil over medium for about 40 seconds. Add the onions and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
Add the garlic, cumin (and jalapeno, if using) and sauté for another 2 minutes, scraping bottom of pot with a spoon.
Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, Italian seasoning and smoked paprika, then stir in the broth. If you are using anything other than full-sodium broth, you'll need to taste test and add more salt to taste.
Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in the corn and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. It will start to thicken after you add the corn.
Add salt and black pepper to taste. About 5 minutes before serving, add the chicken. Alternatively, you can put a big stack of chicken in a bowl, top it with avocados and cheese, then pour the soup around it.

Air-Fried Tortilla Chips

Heat air fryer or oven to 375 degrees F.
Stack the tortilla and cut the stack into 6 triangles so that you have 36 chips.
Lay flat in an air fryer basket or on a baking sheet which you've sprayed with olive oil or avocado cooking spray. Spray the chips with the olive oil cooking spray.
Air Fry or bake for about 10 to 15 minutes or until they start to brown. Keep an eye on them! Luckily, the burnt ones taste good too.

Notes

This version uses regular salted chicken broth so you should only need to add extra salt to taste. If using homemade, no-salt or reduced-salt broth you will need to add at least 1 teaspoon of salt.